Poster 332 Spinal Cord Injury Decompression Sickness and Rehabilitation: A Case Report from Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency and types of medical complications that occur during stroke inpatient rehabilitation at a tertiary care rehabilitation hospital in Saudi Arabia. Design: Retrospective study Setting: Tertiary Care Rehabilitation Hospital. Participants: Our study included 60 patients with an age range of 20-95 years (mean¼63 years); Interventions: The data of 60 stroke patients discharged from inpatient stroke rehabilitation was collected retrospectively from medical records during the period from June 2010 to June 2011. Main Outcome Measures: Demographic and stroke characteristics, preexisting medical conditions, medical complications occurring during acute inpatient rehabilitation Results or Clinical Course: Our study included 60 patients with an age range of 20-95 years (mean¼63 years); 37(62%) males and 23(38%) females. Left side of body was more commonly involved (62%). The strokes were predominantly ischemic in origin (78.3%), The mean onset-to-rehabilitation ward admission interval was 23 days. The mean length of the rehabilitation stay was 49 days. The frequencies of preexisting medical conditions among the patients shows that hypertension (95%), diabetes mellitus (65%), and history of smoking (26.7%) prior stroke (26.7%), hyperlipidemia (21.7%), were the most common preexisting conditions. It shows that musculoskeletal pain (63.33%), depression (21.6%) urinary tract infection (18.33%), stroke progression(7%) identified most frequently occurring medical complications. One patient experienced sudden death due to cardiac arrest of unknown cause. There was significant association of UTI (P¼0.0490) and depression (P¼0.0249) with type of stroke. Depression was also significantly associated (P¼0.0015) with length of stay in rehab. Conclusions: Stroke inpatient rehabilitation is an active medical service. Medical complications are common during inpatient stroke rehabilitation. Management and prevention are very important in the rehabilitation stroke units. Most complications are potentially preventable or treatable if recognized. In rehabilitation stroke wards protocols for the prevention, detection, and treatment of the most common complications should be established. On a larger perspective, this measure may help in achieving better functional outcomes and reducing the cost of health care for stroke patients during inpatient rehabilitation.Poster 332